At Echo Horizon School, we are proud to be recognized as an Apple Distinguished School, a distinction that speaks to our commitment to innovation, responsible technology use, and ethical digital citizenship. This past November, our Director of Educational Technology, Alex Sowa, had the honor of attending the Apple Distinguished Leadership Academy in Orlando, Florida. Not only was Echo Horizon School represented among global leaders in educational technology, Alex was also selected as a speaker at this prestigious event.

 

The Apple Distinguished Leadership Academy is an exclusive gathering where educators from around the world share transformative ideas and strategies. Alex was invited to present on how technology supports our d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in a mainstream setting—a key element of our inclusive learning environment and integral to our school’s founding. His presentation aligned perfectly with the overarching theme of the event: using technology to create a better world.

 

One particularly inspiring moment at the conference for Alex was learning about a school in Brazil that leveraged iPads to conduct real-world environmental research, collecting data to help their community address climate-related challenges. This resonated deeply with our own philosophy at Echo Horizon—technology should be used not just as a tool for learning, but as a means to make a meaningful impact beyond the classroom. 

 

One of the major themes of the conference was the shift toward purposeful and balanced technology use—an approach Echo Horizon has long embraced. Rather than focusing on screen time for its own sake, we prioritize high-impact, developmentally appropriate projects that empower students with essential 21st-century skills. Alex’s key takeaway? Simple ideas can have profound impacts. A quick classroom activity using Apple Pages to collect and analyze data, for instance, can teach critical thinking, collaboration, and digital literacy in a matter of minutes.

 

Our approach aligns with Apple’s evolving philosophy. In recent years, Apple has moved away from an emphasis on screen time and toward fostering ethical, intentional technology use—something Echo Horizon has always championed. We recognize the importance of balancing hands-on, collaborative learning with strategic tech integration to create well-rounded educational experiences.

 

Beyond learning from inspiring schools and educators, the conference provided an invaluable opportunity to expand Echo Horizon’s global network. Alex connected with representatives from Senzoku Gakuen Elementary School in Kawasaki, Japan, and discussions are underway about potential student collaborations. These connections reinforce the power of technology to bridge cultures and foster global citizenship.

 

As we continue refining our EdTech philosophy and strategies, Echo Horizon remains committed to innovation that serves our students, our community, and the broader world. Our journey as an Apple Distinguished School is not about accolades—it’s about continually evolving to ensure that our students are equipped with the skills, mindset, and ethical framework to be responsible global and digital citizens. With an eye toward the future, we will keep exploring new ways to integrate technology meaningfully—one purposeful project at a time.

 

 

With the continuous support of the Echo Horizon community, educators are able to nurture their journey of lifelong learning and bring our students an innovative and engaging educational experience. We sat down with Franqui Messinger, our dedicated Kindergarten teacher, to delve into her recent Master's Degree and the impact it has brought to her classroom.

Please tell us about your Master’s program!
My masters program was through Middlebury College – the same college that Peggy attended for her masters degree! My specific program is called the Bread Loaf School of English. Funny enough, it’s named after the mountain range overlooking the campus that looks like a loaf of bread rising in the oven!

At my very first teaching job in Los Angeles, I saw a production of the “Taming of the Shrew,” put on by my students. I was absolutely inspired to continue with my study of Shakespeare and literature. I started researching graduate school programs focused in English. A parent in my class who was also my former middle school teacher, came to pick up his daughter after school one day and told me about his experience studying, reading, and writing in the mountains of Vermont. He introduced me to Bread Loaf, and I applied that night. I accepted my letter of admissions to start my masters journey for the summer of 2017.

In what ways did Echo Horizon support you in pursuing your higher ed degree?
I’ve always felt just just as passionate about being a lifelong learner and student as I have about being a teacher. Echo has supported my decision to continue my education, and it’s been so much fun and such a pleasure to share my Middlebury experience with my colleagues and my students. Knowing that I was attending the same graduate school as our principal made me feel closer to her. Sharing this experience with Peggy is something we bonded over when I was first hired! I knew that anyone who fell in love with my tiny, little school in Vermont was someone that I wanted to work for. Echo encouraged me to take the classes I was interested in and everyone in our administration team always had time to hear my stories and connections from my classes to our campus. 

How have you brought your learning into the classroom? 
One of my favorite aspects about my graduate program was that it offers so many different campuses around the world to attend. I studied at their campus in Vermont, Santa Fe, and England. In Santa Fe, I took a class taught by the head of the English department at Yale called American Modernism. For this class, we traveled all around New Mexico learning about different artists and art forms. I have been able to take so much of what I learned and apply it on a Kindergarten level to my class at Echo. Some of the artists that my kindergartners study throughout the course of the year are: Georgia O’Keeffe, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alma Thomas, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, and Vincent van Gough!

How have Echo students been a part of your learning journey?
I have used my Echo students' help with my classes in graduate school multiple times, and I truly could not have graduated without them! One of my favorite final projects at Middlebury was my project for my class at Oxford University. The class was called Page to Stage, and we would read a play every week and then travel into London as a class and see a production of that play. Some of the plays we read and experienced were: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Patriots,” “Beneatha's Place,” “Cabaret,” “As You Like It,” and “The Crucible.” I designed two different Kindergarten art pieces for each of the plays that we read over the course of the class. I was able to talk and discuss my ideas with some former students to help me create these art pieces! I also wrote a children’s story for my class on speculative fiction and Zoomed with a former Echo Horizon student who helped me design the characters for my book. I have loved using the imagination and creative minds of Echo students to help bring my own ideas and thoughts to life in my graduate school classes. I would not have been able to graduate without Echo’s support in so many ways, including the help of some very bright and passionate students! Thank you, Echo Horizon!

 

While many schools have a makerspace, Echo Horizon School has an Inquiry and Innovation program that puts high-tech tools, like 3D printing and laser cutting, in a context of community and connection. Design Thinking, an ideation protocol developed at the Stanford D School, asks students to use their skills and gifts to craft solutions to someone else’s challenges. 

 

This is where the real difference comes in because it is hard to come up with great ideas out of nothing, but it is rewarding to help other people with the challenges they face. This unites us in a common creative goal and undercuts a natural competitive impulse to see whose idea is “best.” In this workshop, we are all working to help someone. When students begin a design thinking project, they start with the user, a person (or puppet) that needs help addressing a specific challenge in their lives. I have developed a sequence of lessons and videos for the Inquiry and Innovation program that inspire even our youngest learners to create cars, houses, and garden fences to help puppet users face their challenges. By asking the students to help someone out, they can all share their solutions and see how their classmates also responded to the users’ needs.

 

The Inquiry and Innovation program supports Makerspace and the STEAM studio. These spaces are designed to help the students learn how to work together. The STEAM studio has a laser cutter, two wind tubes, three aquariums, and a giant green screen studio. It also has a great deal of open space and a wide range of crafting materials and cardboard close at hand. John Dewey said that an educational space should be instructional, it should teach you how to use it. This principle helps everyone keep the space looking great and ready for the next member of the community.

 

While new technology like laser cutters and 3D printers get most of the attention, we spend much of our time with glue, cardboard, sewing, and needle felting. We started the year off with the older students creating giant cardboard hands, and the younger students designed their own monsters out of paper and cardboard. Even as we move into creating movies and computer programs, we will often build our characters and backdrops physically and use photos of them in our projects. 

 

As students learn more tools and creative skills, they have more and more control over how they spend their time in our workshops. Often, students will use our space to build their own passion projects, from custom games that use hundreds of dice, to cardboard dioramas. Their ownership of the space really comes through as they take control of their own projects. 

 

One of the most exciting things we can do as makers is to take our work out into the community. The LA Library Celebration of Makers has allowed us to share our builds and films for several years. The students were given the opportunity to debut their short films of cardboard characters for a packed auditorium of parents and members of our local maker community. 

 

The thread that runs through all that is Inquiry and Innovation is thoughtful engagement in the process. Our students talk about their process throughout the process, so they are comfortable speaking about what they are doing and why they are doing it. The focus on process reframes challenges from roadblocks into a problem-solving step of the process. By centering this process on Design Thinking, our students are comfortable offering help to others. Even if they aren’t 100% sure how to help, they are confident they can figure something out.

 

    

 

 

According to Oprah, Maya Angelou once told her, “You did [then] what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better." This is one of the phrases that most anchors my work as a JEDI practitioner and a recovering perfectionist. As adults, engaging with others on some of the most difficult and personal topics–race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, among others–is to make mistakes and missteps, to unintentionally fall into the ways we have been socialized, and also, to reflect, to grow, to change, and to do better.

 

Throughout my career, meaningful–and at times difficult–conversations with students, colleagues, friends, and family have helped me know better. One set of conversations led me to jettison phrases like “boys and girls,” “ladies and gentlemen,” and even “guys,” for “ya’ll” and “folks,” to ensure my language is as gender inclusive as possible. I still call myself out if I slip, although I find I have to do so less and less frequently the more I practice and hold myself accountable. I know this is part of my own journey to grapple with the way I was socialized around gender.

 

A couple weeks ago, adults in our community were able to discuss the impact of gender stereotypes on all children as part of our adult education event on our first JEDI day. We were thrilled to partner with local non-profit More Than Sex Ed for an adult education event, with over thirty parents, caregivers, and staff in attendance. The MTSE facilitators helped us reflect on how we learned about gender and gender roles growing up, and how we can support our students and children in developing healthier and more expansive understandings of gender.

 

Working with adults is an important part of our work with students. Many adults have not had the opportunity to engage in these conversations themselves, so it can be particularly difficult to begin them with children. Yet, studies show that children begin to understand racial differences from infancy. If educators and caregivers do not discuss areas of difference, children will make their own assumptions about the weight those differences hold. While the way we discuss topics should and does vary by age, we believe even our youngest students deserve the opportunity to discuss the differences they see around them.

 

When I was growing up and learning in an independent school in the 1990s and early 2000s, we spoke frequently about race and racism from a historical perspective. However, because racism was always portrayed as “over” it took years for me to recognize when racism was operating around me and to figure out where I fit in as a light skinned biracial Black girl. It was a rude awakening when I realized I was treated differently than peers of different races and genders. Experiencing others experiencing me as I walked through the world was often confusing and I was often unsure of where I belonged. Now, I wonder how the adults around me could have prepared me better for challenges I would experience. I wonder what things might have been different if I understood ways I could be an ally or co-conspirator at a younger age. I wonder what it would have felt like to find a stronger sense of belonging earlier in my life. These experiences, along with research about child development and identity work, inform my approach to JEDI work at Echo Horizon.

 

There are many beautiful things about starting JEDI conversations in elementary school. First, students are less attached to the dominant narratives around them–about ‘boy colors’ and ‘girl colors,’ or what a family ‘should’ look like–so they entertain different perspectives more willingly than many of us can do as adults. Second, kids love to share what they observe, to ask questions, and to look for the “why” – they are ready to engage at their own level in these conversations. My interracial parents often recall a first grade classmate of mine who innocently exclaimed, “Oh! So that’s why Julia’s that color!” when she first saw my parents together. Third, students with historically marginalized identities are better supported by their teachers and peers, learn self-advocacy, and feel a deeper sense of belonging with their institutions when their identities are recognized and celebrated. Finally, when we begin these conversations in elementary school, there is so much time for us to support students in these conversations and to help ensure that they “know better” from a younger age. I cannot wait to see what the world looks like when more folks enter our governments, companies, and classrooms having developed comfort with discussing differences, making mistakes, and learning from each other’s unique ways of being the world.

 

Inside and outside of the classroom, EHS teachers take advantage of students’ natural curiosity about others. When questions come up around difference on the yard, at lunch, or in class, teachers engage students appropriately rather than shutting down conversation. Our Echo Center and hearing technology invite many conversations about equity and fairness at every grade level. JEDI is woven throughout our curriculum, from Pre-K’s Colors of Me project, through 6th Grade, where students take informed action as part of their Purpose Learning work. Last year, one Purpose Learning group got the whole school wondering why so many of us assumed that our mascot, Happy the Hawk, was a boy, even though no one had ever said that! In addition to what we teach, JEDI informs how we evaluate our practices and track  student success. We use standards based grading to measure student progress towards grade-level learning goals in a way that is more meaningful, accurate, and equitable.  

 

We know that our approach is working because students are telling us with their actions. In the past two years, students have successfully advocated for more cultures and countries to be represented in our curricula, organized weeks of events for AAPI Heritage Month, put together morning meeting slides for Pride month, brought a multi-grade Holi celebration to campus, and more. Echo Horizon is a place where students feel comfortable celebrating who they are, and pushing adults to know more and do better. How very lucky we are.